sorcered Reviews

L'immensità (2022)

Penelope is magnificent

[30 June 2023]

A Spanish woman (Penelope Cruz) marries an Italian jerk (Vincenzo Amato) that, after making her three kids, starts cheating on her. She tries to keep her marriage together and her kids oblivious of the drama she goes through, but the situation is so bad that even the kids realize that in their family love is just a word. One of the kids, Adri, is a girl that dreams to be a boy - and acts towards that, dressing like a boy and pretending to be called Andrea, not Adriana.

This is the starting point (you learn all this in the first five minutes) - but the story doesn't really go anywhere, it's just a collection of moments in the dissolution of a plausible family (my father and a lot of his friends were just like Felice - yes, women really had a very hard time in the 70s).

So don't watch this movie for the story, watch it for Penelope. She's amazing.

The Figo Affair: The Transfer that Changed Football (2022)

incredible how similar this is to Neymar's saga

[26 August 2022]

If it wasn't tragic, it would be hilarious how Barcelona didn't learn anything from the Figo affair - and repeated the exact same story with Neymar.

As a documentary, this is really well done - shows the facts, using great archival footage, asks questions to all the actors involved, and gets answers from them. Who's lying and who doesn't? You can make up your own mind about that.

The Gray Man (2022)

Nothing original

[22 July 2022]

You've already seen all this before. Oh well, at least it's nicely shot and choreographed, and shows nice places (mostly Prague, though). The unforgivable part (especially for an action movie) ? It's boring.

June and Kopi (2021)

awful ending

[5 December 2021]

The dad was a major jerk, the mom was too submissive and acted out of character during the last part of the movie. The ending is awful and doesn't teach anybody anything. Kids will be scarred for life.

Patrick (2019)

not a comedy, but a (sometimes too) slow-paced drama

[10 November 2020]

You'll chuckle a few times, guaranteed, but the movie reminds you over and over and over that life is transient and humans are vulnerable - not just when they're naked, old and ugly, but all the time. Still worth seeing for the camera poetry. And the chuckles. And the memento mori, too :)

Ruby (III) (2018)

funny meditation on the meaning of life

[17 October 2020]

The ending would've been better without the black / white sequences IMHO. (trying not to spoil anything here, you'll figure out after watching it what I wanted to say)

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Amazing music, weak story and humor

[9 September 2020]

I remember loving this as a kid. Guess what? The mature me hates the "comedy" and the ridiculous so-called plot. The music is still awesome, though.

#AnneFrank - Parallel Stories (2019)

almost nothing about the 5 survivors

[15 July 2020]

Anne Frank is so well known I hoped this documentary would focus at least in equal measure on the "parallel stories" in the title. Unfortunately, I didn't learn much about them. Also, the instagram girl gimmick was useless, with all her #lousyhashtags.

Japan Sinks: 2020 (2020)

a mixed bag

[12 July 2020]

I love disaster movies, so I watched this tothe end, although there were many moments I wanted to quit. Watch the first episode - that's probably the best one. The animation quality goes down from there, the story gets very far fetched with plenty of deus ex machina moments, and characters act plainly illogical. On the good side, there were beautiful moments, dark yet realistic moments, and heartfelt moments - too bad all of these weren't put together in a shorter yet better series.

LOL: Last One Laughing Australia (2020)

Not funny at all

[4 July 2020]

Maybe Australians will enjoy it, dunno. It just felt like a bucketload of farts and kiddish jokes and nonsense to me. I sped up through the season, thinking maybe at least the last wpisode ahould be fun, the last remaining comedians must be the best, right? No, sir. Complete waste of time.

Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga (2020)

so dumb, it's almost great

[26 June 2020]

I laughed out loud, and got exasperated, and finally just sent my brain packing and enjoyed the movie. Warning: it's chock full or bands like Semen and Garfunkel and songs that say "My love for you grows long and strong". jokes, but with heart :)

No Way 2 (2016)

not funny enough

[19 May 2020]

It's only natural for anthology movies like this to have one or two stinkers, but this one has way too much tired slapstick comedy. I barely smiled. The premises were too outlandish to engage with, and the ones that were relatable (like the first segment, where a city girl decides to try the country life) are badly done.

Kafalar Karisik (2018)

fun retro comedy

[21 April 2020]

Unassuming summer comedy filled with clichés and beautiful sceneries. Felt like one of those 1980s Italian comedies, minus Bud Spencer. Charming, definitely much better than the 3 stars it currently has.

Amanda (2018)

life is chaos

[8 December 2019]

Life is what happens while we're busy planning. Intriguing premise, but confused characters and weak ending. Best actor is, of course, the kid. Nice camera work, too.

A Remarkable Tale (2019)

Charming, harmless and a little boring

[13 November 2019]

Integration is good, racism is bad, and everybody needs love. And laughs, which is something this movie provides... in moderation :)

The Pumaman (1980)

Six stars just for being my first "superhero" movie

[2 November 2019]

I was seven when I watched this, and it was really fun. I'd be scared to watch it again now, I'd rather keep my fuzzy warm nice memories :)

Louise by the Shore (2016)

poetry and old age

[16 June 2019]

It's not technically perfect, but its limitations adapt masterfully to the subject matter - a story of old age, solitude, memories and making the most out of what you have. Which is exactly what the director did :) Not a movie for kids - unlike Up, another movie that tackles the circle of life, and another 10 in my book, this one requires a measure of introspection and life experience to fully appreciate.

Lady J (2018)

« decent made for tv movie » seems just right

[10 March 2019]

Wooden acting (le marquis is particularly awful), pretentious and way too wordy dialogue, wonderful costumes, unimaginative yet pretty scenography, weak use of light, a movie that could have been much better by using less words and more emotion.